10 Ways To Honor Your Veterans

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

I think we all have a responsibility to show gratitude for the courage and dedication of the veterans living in our nursing homes. No matter what their role or how long ago they served, these men & women deserve honor and respect. 

Today I’m sharing 10 ways you can show appreciation for your veterans:

• Create a Wall of Honor

Choose a space on a wall in a high traffic public area of your facility and dedicate it to your veterans. Include a photo of each vet in their uniform as well as a brief bio. I think it’s also meaningful to include veterans from among your staff and volunteers.

• Fly the flag

I hope you fly the flag at your nursing home. If not, please consider taking part in this tradition. Invite veterans to raise the flag every morning and take it down at sunset.

• Involve students

Contact a local school and ask kids to write letters and/or make cards for your veterans. Older students can also interview individual residents about their military service. In addition, you can invite ROTC cadets to join your vets for cookies and conversation.

• Host a fundraiser

Help your residents select a local organization that supports veterans, then host a fundraiser for a special project. One option is a Habitat For Humanity group that sponsors Veterans Builds.

Another idea is to raise money to provide gifts for patients in a local VA hospital. You could also send care packages to local people who currently serve in the military.

Encourage residents to choose how they would like to raise the money. You can get started with this list of successful fundraisers. If at all possible, try to get a representative of the organization to come in and thank your residents for their donation.

• Participate in a parade

Does your community sponsor parades on national holidays? Arrange for vets from your facility to ride on a float in the parade. Contact your local VFW or American Legion, and I’ll bet they’ll be willing to help make this happen.

• Honor vets on holidays

Be sure to provide special programs to honor your vets on national patriotic holidays. You can include lots of music either in the form of sing-a-longs or guest musicians.

Also, consider inviting a guest speaker. The Public Affairs Officer at your local VA can suggest topics and enjoyable speakers.

• Take advantage of free meals

Provide an opportunity for your vets to go to restaurants that offer free meals for veterans on holidays. Many of these establishments treat veterans like celebrities, and your residents will receive lots of thank-yous for their service.

• Wear poppies

Many local veteran’s groups sell poppies on Memorial Day, National Poppy Day and/or Veterans Day. Vets make these crepe paper flowers as part of their rehab programs. Funds go to a variety of programs designed to support disabled or hospitalized vets and their families.

Consider picking up a poppy for each of the vets at your nursing home to wear. You can also offer poppies to your staff and volunteers to show support for service members.

• Help the scouts

Contact your local Girl Scout or Boy Scout organization and find out how your vets can help students earn badges. With a bit of creativity, you’ll find that scouts can check off many badge requirements through interaction with your residents. The American Heritage and Citizenship badges are just two examples.

• Honor at death

When a veteran passes away at your facility, you’ll want to do something special to honor them. Other residents are watching how you treat the deceased resident, and this will mean a lot to them.

It might be as simple as draping a flag over the resident’s body and providing a staff escort to the door. Or, it could be something more elaborate as you can see in this video. (You might want to grab a tissue before watching it.)

I know you have even more ideas to honor veterans. Please share your thoughts in the comment section!

Also, have you ever heard of Rosie the Riveter? Learn how to honor her in your senior living community in this post.